The use of reduced calorie materials as bulking agents in place of one or more traditional or conventional ingredients is known. For example, polydextrose has been promoted to replace a portion of the sugar and/or fat in a variety of food products. The technical bulletin "Pfizer Polydextrose for the Market That's Shaping Up", pp. 1-14 (Pfizer, Inc., 1985), recites formulas for different food products in which polydextrose was used to replace a minor portion of the sucrose and/or fat in the formulation. The bulletin states that polydextrose is available as a powder having residual acidity or as an aqueous solution at 70% solids neutralized to a pH of 5 to 6.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,766,165 and 3,876,794 (each to Rennhard) disclose the preparation and use of both soluble and insoluble polyglucoses and polymaltoses. It is disclosed in Example II of each Rennhard patent that a preblend of dextrose monohydrate, sorbitol monohydrate and tartaric acid were melted in a steam-jacketed screw conveyor and continuously fed to a vacuum-operated, continuous double-arm mixer for a continuous melt polymerization.